SEC Media Days 2023: LSU Storylines
LSU head coach Brian Kelly and three Tigers head to Nashville on Monday for the start of SEC Media Days 2023.
Kelly is joined by quarterback Jayden Daniels, defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo and running back Josh Williams.
Daniels and Wingo both transferred into LSU a year ago and had big impacts on the Tigers winning the SEC West this past season, while Williams is a former walk-on turned starter in Baton Rouge.
Following a press conference with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, LSU will take the podium first. Kelly is set to speak at 12:30 CT, while the trio of Tigers will begin interviews at 1:15 CT.
SEC Media Days 2023 is held at Nashville’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, and interviews with the conferences head coaches and select players from all 14 SEC teams will take place over the next four days
Here are some storylines we are tracking in the week ahead.
Will LSU be picked to win the SEC West?
The Tigers won the SEC West in Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge, which came as a surprise to most given the season’s win total was set at seven – and LSU went on to win double-digit games.
The overtime thriller against Alabama opened the door for the Tigers to take first in the West, but will the SEC media on hand vote for LSU as the favorite this season?
LSU returns a Heisman Trophy hopeful at quarterback in Daniels, while there’s uncertainty at quarterback in Tuscaloosa. With Bryce Young gone to the NFL, will it be Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson or Tyler Buchner as the starting quarterback for the Tide?
We will see Alabama head coach Nick Saban offers any clarity on that front this week, which could play a role in how the media vote for the projected division winner.
Who else might compete for the SEC West crown?
LSU and Alabama are widely considered to be the top two teams in the SEC West this season. One year ago, the Tigers and Tide were the lone SEC West teams to hit double-digit wins, and expectations are the conference’s media will vote for them to occupy the top two spots when it comes to the projected order of finish.
Who is up next?
Mississippi State and Ole Miss both finished 4-4 in the SEC a year ago, while Arkansas finished 3-5. The aforementioned five teams were the only programs to finish with a winning record on the season, while both Auburn and Texas A&M closed out the year with losing records.
The Aggies are expected to bounce back after finishing 5-7 overall and 2-6 in the SEC, which put Texas A&M behind Auburn as the last place team in the SEC West.
At this stage, the outlook beyond LSU and Alabama is certainly cloudy ahead of the 2023 season.
Will Daniels be a preseason First-Team All-SEC selection?
There was some uncertainty surrounding Daniels a year ago when he transferred from Arizona State to LSU, and the battle with Garrett Nussmeier for the starting spot played out into fall camp.
12 months later, Daniels is carrying the second-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy. Daniels finished his first season with the Tigers having thrown for 2,913 yards, 17 touchdowns and three interceptions with a 69% completion percentage. He added 885 rushing yards and 11 more touchdowns on the ground, which are both LSU single-season program records for a quarterback.
“I had the opportunity to declare for the draft,” Daniels said via PFF. “For me, I just felt like I had some unfinished business. I just saw what we can be this upcoming year. Being able to go out there, win a national championship. That’s the biggest thing for me. I want to win the championship before my time in college is done.
“Now we’re here in Year 2, Coach Kelly gives all of the reins to me to go out there and be a leader every day. He told me that this is my team. In order to win a national championship, it has to be a player-led team. I feel like we have that.”
Daniels is one of five quarterbacks at SEC Media Days, joining Arkansas’ KJ Jefferson, Tennessee’s Joe Milton, Mississippi State’s Will Rogers and South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler.
What are Kelly’s expectations for LSU in Year 2?
One year ago, LSU head coach Brian Kelly made it clear the Tigers were in rebuilding mode.
After leaving South Bend for Baton Rouge, Kelly inherited a roster with fewer than 40 returning scholarship players – well short of the 85-man limit. LSU hit the NCAA Transfer Portal hard, and many of the additions – like Daniels and Wingo – played huge roles in the Tigers winning the SEC West.
There weren’t lofty expectations for Kelly in year one given not just the roster makeup, but the reality that LSU had just come off back-to-back .500 finishes in the regular season and were replacing a head coach, a trio of coordinators and all but one of the 10 on-field assistants.
Now that Kelly and Co. shocked the conference by winning the SEC West crown in Year 1, what expectations is he setting ahead of Year 2?
This offseason, Kelly once again circled depth – which ties into the push to rebuild the roster – as a potential achilles heel for the Tigers this fall.
“We should be able, in the SEC West, to sustain some injuries to key players,” Kelly said. “I don’t believe we’re at that point yet. If we, knock on wood, stay injury free and continue to develop, we’re going to be fine. But that’s not where you want to be in this league.”
It’s likely Kelly will remain cautiously optimistic on LSU’s season outlook when he takes the stage on Monday, though there’s no doubt that inside the locker room, the goal is repeating as SEC West Champions and competing for a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
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